Plague-X
by YourBestFriend
Summary: In a world ruined by the spread of a human killing plague two young boys leave on a search for Magneto
1. Introduction

"We have to do it" Eric told me. I was standing in front of a small console that could quite have possibly determined the fate of the world. The small console had many red and blue buttons lighting, and in front of me a large grid. On this grid were small vectors which represented the enemy invading our location. Our location? We're located in the middle of the Haven. The humans have occupied the entire planet and have driven us on to one island where they can conquer us. Magnus has been a strong leader pulling us together to battle what ever the humans send at us, but no one expected volume five sentinels. These mighty machines cripple us with great ease.  
  
"Do it!" Eric yelled, looking out the door as a Sentinel peered in. "I'll take care of the Sentinel, you spread the plague." With that, the former warrior known as Magneto left. The plague was a complex mixture of amino acids, nitroids, and monoglutides. It formed an intelligent virus. The virus was targetted at the human race, and would completely wipe them out, or so we think. What this thing can do is completely unknown to us and is just based off of the scientific notations of our bio-chemists. This plague, stands in front of me ready to be launched into the atmosphere, from one small panel, filled with buttons. After several seconds of thinking what I am to do, I do my duty. I place my right hand on a large platform. A light moves over it. "Identity confirmed", the machine computes back. I turn a key in the machine, and quickly type in the letter "X." Moving my hand slowly, I press the enter key.  
  
A large explosion can be heard, orienting from outside. The torn risen bunker that we have been living in and commanding all of our legions from is about to collapse. I transform into solid steel. Many times people ask me if this hurts or not, but to me it is natural. Walking to the door I grab a firearm, and leave the bunker. The bunker collapses on me, and I continue to walk through undamaged. Outside the bunker is a constant war zone. Large machines are in constant fights with mutants. The mutants, armed with rifles, do little damage to these massive machines. All they can do is attack in numbers and hope for the best. I join in on the battle, aiming and firing and the leg regions of the sentinels, hoping to bring them down. 


	2. Chapter 1

It was five months after Blaze Steel set off the black plague that destroyed nearly all populants on other. The remaining few, were former mutants. The ending result of the X-virus was so unexpected. The humans were all destroyed, but as a last attempt for revenge launched nuclear weapons on all of the Earth. Most humans had died out, but those who didn't lead a life of suffering. The plutonian fall-out actually saved their lives. Radiation acted as a natural repellant to the long term effects of the virus. The long term effects being death. But in exchange for escaping death there was a price to pay. The humans became mutants themselves experiencing odd mutations that no one had ever seen in any other mutants. They were entitled the "Nova-mutants" or "New mutants." The surviving humans were avengers using their new found abilities to try and maintain justice and kill the remaining of the mutants that destroyed their society.  
  
The mutants themselves were rarely affected by the virus. Xavier was affected and died from it, as was Scott Summers. Many lesser known mutants died. The major cause of death was the nuclear explosions. Although radiation shelters did help protect them, many radiation shelters were faulty. The mutations that occurred in mutations came through so quickly that it over exercised the amount of hemoglobin that exists in the blood stream. The mutants that survived received slight genetic mutations. An odd mutation that occurred was in Henry McCoy, our chief bio-chemist. He once existed as a giant blue beast who had incredible agility, super strength, and strong acrobatics. McCoy changed from beast, to a child. He had all the memories of his life, he just became 50-years younger, making him a ten- year old child. The opposite occurred in Logan, also known as Wolverine. Wolverine through his life, lived as a young man for almost 140 years. His unique healing abilities kept his aging down to a minimum which gave him a much extended life. Wolverine, from mutations quickly transcended into an aged state. His hair changed all-white, and wrinkles all over his body.  
  
Eric Magnus, the leader of the mission, completely secluded himself from society. He felt so guilty for his actions that he felt he did not deserve to live among the people that he lived to protect. No one truly knows where he went to. Some say that he lives in under the ruined lands, in a cave studying and thinking of ways to correct the past. Others say that he is off trying to re-build the Asteroid-X project that he used to seclude mutants from humans. Many people are hopeful of what his plans are. But that is all they really have left, their hope.  
  
The land is much tarnished, and very little food will grow on the land. The entire continents of Europe and the Americas have been rendered useless through nuclear radiation, and have been deemed as the "ruined lands." After the nuclear attacks, no mutant ever survived a trip to the ruined lands. Most of the Earth is covered in a dark cloud of Earth called "plutonium fall-out." The air is hard to breath for normal humans, but the tragedies have forced everyone to adapt. Technology is the only thing that is keeping people alive. Infrared rays are produced in specialized green houses to produce all food they need to survive. The problem still remains in the water supply. The water is drastically contaminated with radioactivity and is dangerous to drink. Mutant scientists still find themselves trying to find ways to convert contaminated water into normal H2O.  
  
Conflicts arise in Northern China, the source of the mutant and human compounds. Neither side can live in peace. The humans live in small tends, killing mutated animals for food. The mutants create their own food synthetically. The need for food in humans is too strong, and forces them many times to have the need to steal from the mutants. A short rat-like human attempts to do so, sneaking through the large compounds trying not to be noticed by his genetic superior. Suddenly an alarm goes off, the rat- like human, runs, trying to get away from the place.  
  
A patrol of mutants captures the human down a narrow corridor. They aim a large rifle at him and fire on him, knocking him out. The mutants are dressed in the finest of silvers and polyesters, while the human wears rags. "Bring him to the brig" the captain tells his squad. He pushes his long brown hair back, and scratches his blunt nose. The small human attempts to resist, but can't. He is malnourished and does not have the energy required to put up a decent fight. Besides that fact these mutants could have killed him had they want to. They set their weapons on shock mode so they could catch him alive.  
  
In the mutant society, catching a human, was like hunting animal. An animal is more valuable to you if you can catch it alive, it also would show you to be a stronger and more powerful warrior. The same exists in the current mutant society, they try to capture all trespassers instead of kill them. The young human, is pulled into the brig. The brig has several small empty jail cells in it. They look like small openings with a bit of walking space protecting by a magnetic force field. Although this technology has failed before, the humans still rely on it to help detain their criminals. Many times the humans are killed and burned and their body is used to fertilize the soil. A crude method, but in their desperate times is necessary for them.  
  
The two guards push the human into the cell. The human stumbles and shuffles, as he falls to his feet in the cell. The two guards laugh at the human, and walk away, talking about their daily cycles. The human in the cell, begins to cry. He feels alone and distraught, knowing he will never see his family again. He has heard many of the stories that tell of what happens to the prisoners. Rumours spread of how they ate them for food. Rumours tell of how that torture them for genetic research. He feared for his life and more importantly, his family. A hand touched the back of the human, and he turned around immediately.  
  
A mutant phased from invisible to visible before his very eyes. The human jumped back in fear. "Don't be afraid of me. Hi, I'm Malcolm" the mutant tells the human. The human is shaking in fear, and stutters when he speaks "hi, my name is Gill." Gill still keeps his distance from Malcolm. He does not want to touch him, or have anything to do with him, he fears what he is. "How did you do that?" Gill asks. Malcolm smiles at Gill, which makes him increase the fear he has of Malcolm. "I'm a mutant, I have the ability to blend in with anything, even air."  
  
Gill is shocked by this, backing off even further. "What are you going to do to me?" Gill asks.  
  
"I just want to talk" Malcolm responds.  
  
Gill is more or less confused at this point. Living in a new world he has grown not to trust mutants. Mutants are superior to humans, and maintain a military control over the region. They make sure in their new world that they are the dominant species. "How did you get in here?"  
  
Malcolm, once again smiles, revealing several broken yellow and white teeth. "I have always been here. I kind of took too much food over and over, and they decided to arrest me. They have this room plugged with censors to make sure I never leave. So I have just been sitting here by myself, always waiting for someone to join me. Not many mutants are arrested you know? Most people around here believe too strong in the Magnusian Code."  
  
"The what code?" Gill responds.  
  
"It's something that a man named Eric Magnus invented. He was a crazy man who lived during World War 2 as a Jew in a Nazi camp. He later hated all humans and began a brigade against all humans. Several mutants tried to stop him but he had become the most powerful mutant on Earth. He started wearing a crazy cape and helmet and called himself Magneto. He defeated the most powerful of human oppressors and aligned himself with two other powerful mutants named Mister Sinister and Apocalypse. This lead to the war between the humans and mutants. It was Magneto who gave the order to send the plague to the humans and install this hell we have now. He dictated that we were to build a perfect society by his model once it all happened. After it happened he felt so ashamed of himself, he simply left off to the ruined lands and that's the last anyone heard of him. When he left, we all worked together and built complexes by the specifics of Magnus' models, and made what we have now. Absolute power is what you could really call it."  
  
"How do you know this"? Gill asks Malcolm.  
  
"Common knowledge." Malcolm answers. "Every mutant knows of this story. It's what keeps all the people around here working so hard."  
  
Gill nods, recognizing this tale. He is not sure if it is just a bluff story, or is real. But he knows that Malcolm is not his enemy. Had Malcolm been a threat to him, he would have been killed already.  
  
"Do you know how we can escape?" Gill asks Malcolm. Malcolm nods at Gill. Malcolm is still smiling at Gill. "But why would you want to leave yet? They still haven't served us food."  
  
"Food?" Gill jumped in. Gill was shocked to hear that the mutants would serve food to prisoners after all the rumours he had heard about what the mutants do to humans. Gill's imagination exploded with the types of breads and fruit that they would serve him. Drool slides down the left cheek of his face. He was that hungry. It has been weeks since Gill last tasted a fresh meal. Malcolm could see how desperate Gill was to get food.  
  
"It should be here in a minute" Malcolm tells Gill. So..." Malcolm proclaims trying to create a conversation. "Do all humans look like you? You look kind of weird, kind of like a.... rat." Gill turns his back to Malcolm. "Not to be offensive, but you have a big nose, whiskers, sharp teeth, black hair, dark skin, and you are short and bent over." Malcolm turns back to Gill. "Look at you, you're not much better. You don't even have colours or shapes, you are just a clone of what's around you." Gill transforms into a section of the wall, transforming all grey. "That hurt." "Well if you can't take it, don't make it." Malcolm transforms back into a humanoid form.  
  
"I have been waiting for someone like you." Malcolm tells Gill. "I really have, I wanted to be around someone with some spark, some flare, you have it. If the high council gives you the death penalty, I'll help you escape."  
  
"Why are you so nice" Gill asks Malcolm. "What did you do to be stuck here?"  
  
"It's a long story, and I don't trust this place, too much security."  
  
"Your food is here girls." A door slides open automatically by censors that detect the presence of an officer. In their arms are two small plates with plastic covering over them. They put their arms through the security field, which for some reason does not seem to affect them in the slightest way. They push the food through the security field handing the food to the two prisoners. "Now play nice" one of the guards tells them, laughing as he walks away. They were two cocky guards, who "got off" on tearing down prisoners. Gill and Malcolm opened up their food trays, only to find processed gruel as their food. The two began to eat their food, forming a friendship and a relationship that would last a life-time. 


	3. Chapter 2

The Chancellor of the Senate of Mutant Society, stood in a room surrounded by people. They were all well dressed wearing gold, silver, bronze, and silks. Even after such a major global contamination and widespread of death, the hierchial elite of a society still require of themselves to wear great bountiful clothing. All the men in this chamber are old and war torn. Each member of the Senate represents a different complex within the Republic of Mutants. The complexes span for miles and are self-sustaining units of life. Each contains all the food, oxygen, water, and minerals that are needed for a person to survive. These complexes gave mutants an advantage over the humans. Each one was equipped for survival, protection from radiation, and could expand further. These Senators of an elaborate network of complexes reign in a single building where they do an assortment of tasks. Their major task is to represent the people in all decisions to make sure that everyone gets a fair deal. An alternate reason is to lay judgement on criminals. It is not often that the Senate must do this since most people are happy with their lives, but there is always the unique time.  
  
The Chancellor stands in the middle of an elevated platform with seats which rise, one above the other, he is the center of a circle. The Senators all talk with each other, mumbling about past decisions, but not truly ever letting another know what they really think. The Chancellor is sitting on a metal platform. The platform has the ability to move up, forward, backwards, down, left, right, and rotate. This way the Chancellor can address individual people when he needs to. The Chancellor raises a small mallet in his hand and touches it against a small block in front of him. Computer screens activate in front of all the senators. The computer screens are touch based computers, so if you have anything to say, you tell your venture to the computer, and you are rated based on how important your opinion is to the argument. The whole system to the naked eye would seem to have a definite bias as a person who has a needed opinion can easily be ignored. A system was put in place based on an honorary system where the chief elders of the old world would give each opinion a rating, not knowing any of the people giving the opinion. They would also be kept away from each other and live in solitude. No one truly trusted the system, but no one ever opposed it either.  
  
"Today we need to settle the new prisoners code" The Chancellor begins, moving around in the room in his chair. "The humans are becoming overly abundant, they are getting into our compounds, and they are trying to steal what we have spent these last few years earning. Today we take the vote on how we treat our prisoners. Up until now we have let them live, and released them after four weeks, but today is a new day. Magneto's rule was not invented to apply to these situations. It was made under the assumption that the humans... would all be dead."  
  
Scott Summers of the Eastern Coast buzzes in to this cause. After the machines accept what he has to say, Summers stands up and prepares to speak. "My fellow Senators, and your Chancellorship, what we are proposing today is a lie, a mistake, and a contradiction to our original cause. It was 50 years ago when I was a young man, when I still had a wife, children, and the respect of my fellow man that Charles Xavier and Eric Magnus set out to form a new world. Each with a different goal. By the end Magnus did not want the slaughter of innocent blood, he just wanted us mutants to be safe. This is genocide what you are proposing. We can accommodate our own safety without the need to destroy an entire race. What the humans were doing to us, we are trying to do back, and it is wrong."  
  
"What is wrong with this?" Senator Packard stands from his seat, making an approach on his fellow Senator. "We are trying to move forward with evolution. These humans are staying back in the past, and trying to steal from us, trying to take from us, trying to kill us, so they can have what they want. They want to be among us not as equals, but superiors. If we do not eliminate them, they will try and eliminate us. We must destroy the rest of the past and move on. We are not beasts like these humans, we are noble men with noble causes. They destroyed this Earth, not us. We tried to eliminate them and as a last resort, they did not die nobly, they launched nuclear weapons on us, and only so many of us survived."  
  
But what is noble?" Summers cut in. "What do you consider to be a noble cause? You are dictating that because they attacked us, we must attack them back. You just said that they lacked nobility for when we destroyed them, they tried to destroy us. You are making no sense Mr. Packard, I suggest you sit down before you embarrass yourself."  
  
"I make plenty sense, and everyone in this senate knows and respects that. Everyone recognizes them as a threat. I say we make our stand, here and now, to make change in the modern world, and for our children."  
  
After an epic speech, Scott is left without words to say. The senators in the complex all were nodding their heads and speaking softly, when a small mallet of the Chancellor falls again. "Silence, I will have silence. If no one else has any arguments, we will get along to the voting." All the senators in the room began pressing small buttons, making their decisions. "We have a final vote." The Chancellor proclaims. "We have 40 votes for the news prisoner code and 39 against it. If anyone wishes to appeal the decision it can be done, and at a later date a new vote and concession will be made to make another vote on canceling this new code. But, until then, the code is now officially in tact." Several of the senators mumble at the sound of this new law. This now gives mutants the abilities to test and torture humans. They are also able to summary executions. Something that many of the older mutants, including Senator Scott Summers were firmly against. Although they had thoughts, they could not give them, it was the way of things that once a decision was made they move on to another case or law.  
  
"With this new code in tact, we have a mutant who has been a vandal, a thief, and a mischief maker to our society to judge. Malcolm-X has been a problem in our society so so long and until now we have not been able to give him a proper sentencing. On your screens is all the acts of violence and crime that he has committed. Until now we have kept him confined to the brig, but now is the day to make our decision. It is either the death penalty, or prison. You will decide the fate of this man, I know and trust you will all make the correct decisions on this matter." The Senators all look across at each other, examing each other trying to understand what the other wants. After thirty minutes of deciding, a final judgement is made. The senators wait in fear while their decisions are being processed, they decide the fate of a man. The Chancellors stands up for the first time in the meeting, looking at a print out of all the votes. Many of the senators refused to vote on this issue, limiting the vote to only 24 of the 79 elected members. The Chancellor's eyes close and read through the list at the names and votes. After looking through them and confirming the identity in aspect, he begins to speak.  
  
"The verdict is that he is to be executed." As the Chancellor speaks of this punishment, Senator Summers stands in his seat in rejection. "I reject, we haven't seen the names." Summers saw this as an opportunity to save the young mutants life. The Chancellor forgot to send out the names of who voted for what verdict before he made the formal announcement. In the courts of the mutants, all information must be spread. Their must be no communist resolvement of information from the public. The Chancellor sat back down at his desk and typed a few keys. "There Mister Summers, all the necessities are made, we can now have him executed." "I protest" Summers told the Chancellor. "You made a fault, so he must be granted two weeks before his execution now."  
  
The Chancellor sighs in disbelief at what he is hearing, and at the same time wishes that Summers was killed in the great war of 2080 like the rest of his comrades. He did not believe that one of his own would try and protect this mutant from an execution. The Chancellor put his head down and shook it, giving hard looks to himself. "Fine then Mister Summers, you can have this verdict, he lives for two more weeks." The courts break into an uproar about what Summers did. He has a smile on his face having up holded true justice, protecting the meek and small over the strong. Summers saw all the people in the senate as drones and puppets to the ruling of the Chancellor. Although the Chancellor was not a bad man, he also was not a very good person. The Chancellor was more communist operated. He believed in having control of things, and provided his own region with the majority of support. He influenced most of the senators to obey his opinions, but Summers always seemed to be the rebel in the senate. Summers would fight things through, and make sure that the people make their own opinions. There has always been a struggle between Summers and the Chancellor. Eventually the two would just oppose each other's decisions on the purpose just so that they could feud with each other. Everyone in the Senate knew this, but none of them would openly say they knew about this.  
  
Malcolm who was presented in the Senate smiles up at Senator Summers, recognizing that he was the only one in that court that would fight for his cause as an ombudsman. The mallet of the Chancellor once again slams down as people calm down once again. "In light of this latest decision, there will be a twenty minute recess." The senate, now disbands to their own private rooms, getting in communications with their people reporting what has happened from their own unique opinions. Each giving their own slant to what was said either siding with Summers or the Chancellor. When Summers wrote back to the media at The Eastern Coast he simply told them to protect the humans in their compound from being exhiled, or worse. Summers had grown old and grey in his age. His image of an old wrinkled man did not make him seem strong, but he is a true benefactor to the old cliche "the pen is mightier."  
  
Scott's future with the senate is limited to his actions. Newton said that for every action there is an opposing reaction. Scott is learning this law even at his old age of 98 years old. Scott's life was prolonged after the nuclear radiation mixed in with the plague labeled "X." This unusual change not only prolonged Scott's life, but cured his brain damamge. Previously Scott was unable to control the rays that left his eyes causing them to be a destructive force. The radiation and plague cured this, and made him better. He is now able to control it at different levels any time he wishes. But with every prize reaps a terror. Scott was left with only one eye. One of his eyes burned out from exposure to nuclear radiation, while the other did not. He wears a brown pirate's eye patch over that one eye. His once powerful beams are not half their strength with only having one eye, meaning he is no physical opposition for anyone in the Senate. This is the true reason why he has not tried to overthrow the government in the past, he feared for his family, so abided by their rules  
  
When the screen turns off from Summers broadcasting to his people, he looks into the reflection of the mirror. His white wrinkled face stares back at him. In that hard shell is the former leader of the X-Men, and in front of him lies a politician, invoking the same type of changes that humans did not. "Give me a meeting with Malcolm later on" Scott told one of his servants. "We must meet before his execution." 


	4. Chapter 3

Â Â Â  Malcolm saw his fate role in front of him. Â  First he was just a boy, trying to differentiate the world.Â  But the world refused to change.Â  Instead of changing, he was sentenced to death.Â  The extra two weeks he was given were meant as a punishment in itself.Â  Kill a person and you set an example.Â  Give a person time to think, and you punish.Â  Malcolm had time to think about his cause, and how weak it had become.Â  Malcolm was a drifter. Â  He drifted from one colony to another trying to find a symbol, one that could help give him faith.Â  But he never did find that symbol, all he found was his place on the chopping block.  
  
Â Â Â  His finals days would be with a human locked in a magnetic cell, given time to think things through, or to cause as much trouble as possible.Â  Malcolm quickly observed his options while staying camouflage with the walls.Â  Malcolm takes time to remember his childhood, when he had a father, Magneto.  
  
Â Â Â  Malcolm did not even know who his father was until recently when one of the senators told him about his "imperial blood."Â  They told him that in the future he would become a great leader of mutants, and would fight for a great cause. Â  Malcolm spent his life, looking for that single cause.Â  He started off at age five, skipping all of his education classes, and looking for adventures.Â  He would run around the Yomata compound, trying to find some hidden treasure.Â  By the end of the day he may have found some piece of lint, or a piece of metal, but these were her treasures that he collected.Â  Malcolm did not have any friends, people considered him a weirdo.  
  
Â Â Â  By the time Malcolm had turned 13 years of age, he completely disbanded from school.Â  His foster parents demanded him to go to school, but it was too late. Â  Malcolm had fallen so far behind in classes that he would never catch up. Â  Malcolm set on his own to be an adventurer as an occupation.Â  While others softened up and learned of technologies, Malcolm became tougher, and unlike others began to experiment with his powers.Â  Malcolm quickly grew to what would have been recognized as a gifted mutant.Â  He could use his ability to change into what ever he wanted to his advantage.Â  He could go by any sensors, any detection, any security, unknown to the technology.Â  By theory he had defeated the essence of technology with his pure ability.Â  This made the council of elders scared though.Â  They had heard about this boy and felt he would take the path of destruction that his blood relative Magneto would take.Â  He would destroy paradise in order to save it.Â  To contain him they placed him in a prison for several months.Â  They did this until Scott Summers let the boy out.Â  By this time Malcolm had grown in hate, and began to use his powers in the name of crime.  
  
Â Â Â  The mutants did everything they could to confine Malcolm, until now. Â  The death order was given and they would no longer have to take care of him. Â  Malcolm had to live with the feeling of rejection.Â  Although his cause was a noble one, it was a cause that none of the senate wanted.Â  He did not feel like continuing on, so if he was to die, he would not give them the liberty of doing it for him.  
  
Â Â Â  A battle can be heard erupting just outside the room that the prison was in.Â  Two guards were tossed against a wall.Â  An old man, walked through the door.Â  It was Senator Scott Summers, he winked at Malcolm with his one eye and shot a small red beam at a console, disentegrating the magnetic field.Â  "Why are you helping me" Malcolm asked Summers.  
  
Â Â Â  "I once too had dreams too kid, I'm living them.Â  Head out the aft conduet and head out of the complex.Â  Head to the ruined lands and find Magneto, before this senate tears us all apart."  
  
Â Â Â  Malcolm nods at Summers and wakes up Gill who was sleeping through all of this.Â  "We're leaving Gill, we have our ticket out of here, come with me."Â  Gill woke up confused, but was quick to get ready.Â  Malcolm walked down the hallway with Gill following him.Â  Summers sat down in the security chair. Â  Scott was giving up his children, his wife, his own future to save these boys. Â  Scott although in old age still had a dream.Â  His dream was of peaceful co-existance between humans and mutants, the same dream he had before.Â  He felt that if Erik could see what he has created, he will take back his society and change it. Â  Two guards entered the prison complex pointing their guns at Scott.Â  He smiles at them showing some old dimples.  
  
Â Â Â  "I shall face my death forward, letting nothing intervene.Â  I will fight to the death until you pull my malace from my cold dead hands.Â  I am Scott Summers, I am Cyclops."Â  Suddenly Scott begins to yell.Â  "For freedom!"Â  Summers raises his arm in the air, and fires off a red beam at the two men.Â  The two men dive out of the way while Scott hides behind the desk. Â  Scott thinks to himself, "If I can hold off security long enough, maybe those boys will have a chance, we will have a real future."Â  Scott stands up and fires a red beam hitting a panel.Â  The panel explodes, the men fly in the air from the explosion.Â  "These men are of ill-weathered training.Â  This seclusion from combat has made them weak and easy predators for enemies.Â  If they were to fight the humans, perhaps the humans would win."Â  Summers fires a final red beam at the door, forcing it to explode.Â  As he does this one of the guards sends a pulse beam at Summers, knocking him unconscious.Â  Summers falls as a defeated revolutionary, who gave up his career for a purpose.  
  
Â Â Â  While all of this was going on, Gill and Malcolm were successful in climbing into an air duct.Â  In was narrow, but both could slide through it. Â  They could see down the vents many guards running back and forth trying to contain the scene.Â  The two were in fear crawling down when they stop, to look down. Â  Under them are three generals of the mutant army plotting the destruction of the human race.Â  Malcolm put his finger to his lip, quietting Gill.Â  Gill sits dumbly, wondering what Malcolm is doing.Â  He understands quickly when he hears the three generals talking.  
  
Â Â Â  "We have to strike now!" one of the generals yells out. Â  "We do not have the power to carry it out" another yells.Â  The final general slams his hands on the desk.Â  "We have to destroy the humans completely, but we need time to compare.Â  We can spend all our time yelling at each other, or we can destroy the humans.Â  They're cutting back on production."Â  The generals all sit down and review military strategy in front of Malcolm and Gill who are both horrified by this.Â  Gill nudges Malcolm to move on.Â  "One more second" Malcolm tells Gill.Â  "I think someone is listening on us" one of the generals proclaims.Â  One of the generals reach for a communicater and begins to speak into it silently.  
  
Â Â Â  Malcolm leaves not wanting to know what he was saying.Â  Gill follows closely behind Malcolm, up until the two reach the end of the vent.Â  Malcolm kicks open the hatch at the end of the vent.Â  The hatch falls open and Malcolm pears over it.Â  Under Malcolm is a large windmill blade spinning to suck out air pressure from the vents.Â  Gill peers over it as well.Â  Gill almost slips but maintains his position.Â  "Maybe we should go back" Malcolm tells Gill. Â  "We're not going anywhere" Gill shoots back.Â  "We came this far and we're not letting some spinning blade that could quite possible kill us, stop us. Â  Let me watch that blade for a while, I'll know when it's safe to jump."  
  
Â Â Â  Gill stands there his head moving in a circular patern watching the blade.Â  "Jump now" Gill yells out.Â  Gill pulls down Malcolm and the two move through the vent, and slide through the blade, almost getting killed.Â  The two land on their backs on the cement ending.  
  
Â Â Â  "You okay?" Gill asks Malcolm.  
  
Â Â Â  Malcolm slaps Gill in the face.Â  "Never do that to me again, even if it did save our lives.Â  It was still uncalled for.Â  You could have gotten us killed"Â  Gill gets up and helps up Malcolm.Â  "I was trying to save your life, you'd think you would be more respectful of this."  
  
Â Â Â  Gill after lifting up Malcolm turns his back to him.  
  
Â Â Â  "Hurry Gill" Macolm shouts out.  
  
Â Â Â  "I'm not sure if I can go with you Malcolm" Gill returns. Â  Gill's dignity had left him, and he was alone to make a decision.  
  
Â Â Â  "We will have many glorious adventures.Â  We can throw away our pasts and start a new life."  
  
Â Â Â  Gill finally turned around.Â  "Okay, but I may do things in my conscience I know will work, I have a very complex brain for a human.Â  You can't put the same limitation these people and my people put on me.Â  If we are to go, I must visit my family first, than we will be off."  
  
Â Â Â  Malcolm opened up a door composite to himself which lead to a bright sun scorching a nuclear wrecked Earth.Â  All the trees were dead, plants inexistant, not a living thing out there.Â  Somewhere in that hazard area was the human colonies, and Gill would lead him to them. 


End file.
